Test drive: Alt-fuel Dodge Dakota pickup

Michelle Williams - The Birmingham News Wayne Keith drives his Dodge Dakota that runs on a gasifier at his Springville home. He uses switchgrass, wood and even chicken dung as fuel for the vehicle.

In the bed of Wayne Keith 1991 Dodge Dakota pickup is a gasifier unit that can turn just about any material with carbon in it into a gas that is a combination of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and nitrogen. The result is a truck that goes about 5,000 miles on a cord of wood. Or a slightly shorter distance on a load of chicken dung. Birmingham News staff writer Stan Diel recently interviewed Wayne and writes about the man and his truck in today's Birmingham News. Stan also, however, got to drive got the unusually-fueled truck which you can read here...

Wayne Keith started the engine on gasoline, then switched over to the gasifier after it had warmed up. That's not strictly necessary, he said. The engine bucked a little as it switched from liquid gas to the airy stuff coming from the gasifier. Wayne drove the first leg, accelerating slowly and hitting 75 mph on a stretch of highway near St. Clair Correctional Facility, where he used to manage dogs used to track down escaped inmates.

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The engine ran smoothly, with the only unusual noise being a whooshing sound coming from the gasification unit behind our heads. With the tall gasification unit in the bed, the Dakota has a high center of gravity and is frighteningly unstable at high speed. The bald tires did nothing to improve its handling. The hood, which Wayne forgot to secure after displaying the engine, bounced up and down as he barreled down the highway, his face illuminated by a giant grin.

After stopping to secure the hood, we switched places in the cab and I took my turn behind the wheel for the drive back to the Keith farm. This truck will not win any drag races, especially if the gasifier isn't up to temperature. It accelerates slowly, but is almost indistinguishable from a truck running on gasoline in most respects. "Floor it!" Keith shouts, urging me over 70 mph in the long, vacant 45 mph zone. At about 65 mph I push the accelerator to the floor. There's no neck-snapping surge, but the truck eventually found its way to 75 mph.

With the gasification unit hot, it accelerates as well as a regular truck, Keith says as I stand on the brakes just in time to make the turn off the highway and back to the farm. Asked whether he's found its top speed, Keith smiles and says "something over 80."